White House social media director misused official position by going after GOP lawmaker, ethics experts say

A tweet by White House social media director Dan Scavino Jr. urging supporters of President Donald Trump to challenge a GOP lawmaker may have violated a federal law that prohibits officials from using their positions for political activity, ethics experts said.

On Saturday, Scavino went after Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, calling him "a big liability" in a tweet from his personal account. "#TrumpTrain, defeat him in primary," he added.

Amash is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, which Trump blames for derailing legislation that would have repealed parts of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

Even though Scavino was tweeting from his personal account, the page at the time listed his official White House position and featured a photo of him inside the Oval Office, noted Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration.

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